one of the most difficult things about photographing pancakes right after they come off the pan (and are still hot) is that the butter keeps melting… I had to reapply tablespoon after tablespoon of butter to these pancakes so that they looked pretty. seriously, i think i used more than half a stick of butter… so needless to say but that first pancake was very butter-y when tom finally got to eat it lol. even without the stick of butter on top, these pancakes are so good. they are sweet but not too sweet, tangy, light, and fluffy but also crispy from being cooked in bacon grease (don’t skip this step).
let’s talk about oat flour… now you can totally buy it at the grocery store but where’s the fun in that?!
oat flour = rolled or old fashioned oats minced in a food processor (omg easy right?!)
so easy and so much cheaper than buying a $10 bag from the grocery store. okay… I don’t seriously know if a bag costs $10 because i’ve never bought oat flour but you get my point? it’s crazy easy to make and i’m like 90% sure that you already have the two ingredients on hand… one of which is a small appliance.
the reason I’m going on and on about oat flour is because it’s the star in the this recipe. minced oats give these pancakes such a fluffy consistency. don’t get my wrong, sometimes i do love a dense pancake but when pancakes are so weightless that i can stack five together and cut through them like butter and they melt in your mouth… that’s heaven.
the second star of this recipe is bacon grease, hence the reason these aren’t vegetarian… I am a firm believer that eggs and pancakes and pretty much everything tastes better when cooked in bacon grease. super healthy i know right?! cooking these pancakes in bacon grease gives them an undeniable crispy outer layer which is the perfect compliment to their ridiculously fluffy interior. seriously. omg. to. die. for. like i said before, don’t skip this step. but if you are vegetarian then cook them in the butter/oil of your choice. I feel like coconut oil would be a good option and add a slight yet delicious coconut flavor to these already amazing pancakes.
so how do you get bacon grease? you cook bacon! i strongly suggest having a side of bacon with these pancakes because bacon is delicious and that solves your problem of needing bacon grease. or next time you make bacon… don’t just dump the grease out, pour it into a jar and store it in the fridge. kind of weird but you won’t regret it.
third star of this recipe goes to… lemon and poppy seed but we all know how lovely those two ingredients are together especially when the lemon zest is rubbed into brown sugar coating it with all the essential lemon oils. SO much flavor! okay, without further ado… let’s get to the recipe!
Crispy lemon poppy seed oat pancake recipe:
crispy lemon poppy seed oat pancakes
Ingredients
- bacon and/or bacon grease or sub oil of choice to cook the pancakes in
- 1 1/2 cups rolled oats
- 1/2 cup coconut flour or any other gluten-free flour sub normal flour if not gluten-free
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/4 cup cornstarch
- 1 teaspoon sea salt
- 2 tablespoons poppy seeds
- 2 tablespoons dark brown sugar
- zest of one lemon divided
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 2 eggs
- 3 tablespoons melted coconut oil
- 3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
- 1 cup dairy-free milk I used toasted coconut almond milk and do not regret it; sub normal milk if not dairy-free
Instructions
- preheat oven to 200F.
- in a large nonstick skillet, fry bacon to your preferred doneness. remove bacon from pan and place on a plate lined with paper towel to absorb excess grease. turn off the stove and leave remaining bacon grease in the pan to cook your pancakes in.
- make oat flour: place rolled oats in a food processor and pulse until only small bits remain.
- in a medium-sized bowl, combine oat flour, coconut/gluten-free flour, baking powder, cornstarch, sea salt, and poppy seeds. whisk dry ingredients together until well combined.
- in a small bowl, rub lemon zest (leaving a little for garnish) and brown sugar together using a small spoon until the oils from the lemon zest start to mix into the sugar.
- in a separate small bowl, whisk together vanilla extract, eggs, coconut oil, lemon juice, and dairy-free milk.
- create a hole in the middle of the dry ingredients (bowl from step 3), add the lemon zest brown sugar mixture and lemon juice milk mixture (small bowls from steps 4 and 5) into the hole of the dry ingredients then mix until all the ingredients are completely incorporated into a batter.
- heat the frying pan with bacon grease from step 1 (or a large nonstick skillet with oil of choice) over medium-low to medium heat. using a 1/4 measuring cup, scoop batter onto heated pan forming small circles. fry the pancakes about 2 minutes per side (or flip them when you see bubbles pop on the top). once pancakes are cook through and golden, place them on a baking sheet in the oven (preheated to 200) to keep warm while you finish frying the additional batches of pancakes. I made four batches of three pancakes each, twelve pancakes total 🙂
- top with butter (or vegan butter if dairy-free) and maple syrup plus a sprinkle of lemon zest then enjoy!
You should totally make these lemon poppy seed oat pancakes this weekend and let me know your thoughts!! happy wednesday!
– A
Becky
These look amazing! We have like 3 jars of bacon grease in the fridge (we have a bacon problem, thanks Zingerman’s) and cook EVERYTHING in it.
Adrienne Brady
Thanks!!! They were super good!! Oh and I’m like 95% sure you could use flax "eggs" in this recipe if you wanted to be able to eat this! Also, a bacon problem is a GREAT problem to have haha! 🙂